Survey of educational provisions for chronically ill children

Abstract

As part of an effort to examine existing educational provisions for chronically ill children, we developed a questionnaire to solicit information on current categorization practices and services available through education agencies in different parts of the United States and its territories. During the spring of 1981, the questionnaire was prepared and field-tested with representatives of the Education for the Handicapped division of the Tennessee Department of Education. In early June 1981, copies of the questionnaire, together with brief descriptions of the project, were mailed to chief state school officers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 7 trust territories, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A followup letter, which included another copy of the questionnaire and the project description, was sent in mid-August to those persons who had not yet responded. Replies were received from 42 states, the District of Columbia, 7 trust territories, and the BIA, for a return of 86%. A total of 46 completed questionnaires (78% of those mailed out) were received.1 Those states